Brendan O’Carroll Books In Order

Publication Order of Agnes Browne Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Plays

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Images of War Books

Brendan O’Carroll
Brendan O’Carroll was born September 15, 1955 and is an Irish comedian, director, writer, and actor. He is best known for playing the foul-mouthed Irish matriarch Mrs. Brown, he has been a popular comedian in Ireland since the early 90s.

He is the youngest of eleven kids of Gerard O’Carroll, a carpenter, and Maureen, his mom, was a Labour Party TD. His dad died when Brendan was just six, and Brendan’s mom raised all of their eleven kids without much money. He went to Saint Gabriel’s National School and left when he was twelve. He had a string of occupations, which included being a milkman and a waiter.

Since he had become a well known comedy guest on The Late Late Show, he released multiple standup videos.

He was working on a boxing movie that he had written, called “Sparrow’s Trap”. It had Stephen Rea cast in the lead part, ran into financing issues midway through production when the distributor pulled out and everything was abandoned. Incurring debts over a million pounds, he became bankrupt and the move’s never been produced.

In the year 1992, he performed a short radio play called “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” and soon after wrote some books. He decided to put together his own family theater company called Mrs. Browne’s Boys, and dressed as a woman to play his role, since the actress originally hired to play Mrs. Browne never showed up.

“The Mammy” was made into a movie, which was called “Agnes Browne”, that starred Angelica Huston, which O’Carroll co-wrote the screenplay for.

His novels have been translated into twelve languages and have been bestsellers all around the world.

From 1977 until 1999, he was married to first wife Doreen O’Carroll. Then in the year 2005, he married his second wife Jennifer Gibney. He has three surviving children: Eric, Fiona, and Danny. His first son, named Brendan, died of spina bifida when he was just a few days old.

“The Mammy” is the first novel in the “Agnes Browne” series and was released in the year 1994. This book chronicles the comic misadventures of this lively and huge family with raw humor and great affection. “Mammy” is what Irish kids call their moms and The Mammy is Agnes Browne, who is a widow that struggles to raise her seven kids in a North Dublin neighborhood during the sixties.

Forced to be mom, dad, and even referee to her constantly battling family, this ever-resourceful Agnes Browne sometimes finds a spare moment to trade quips and gossip with Marion Monks (alias “The Kaiser) her best buddy. She even finds herself being pursued by an amorous Frenchman that runs the local pizza place.

“The Chisellers” is the second novel in the “Agnes Browne” series and was released in the year 1995. Agnes returns with more stories from working class Dublin. Agnes’ seven kids, whom she affectionately calls “the chisellers”, are struggling while trying to make their way in the world with varying degrees of success.

To make things tougher, she learns that this family is close to getting forced out of their tenement home all in the name of urban renewal.

Agnes’ persistent suitor, named Pierre, is thankfully on hand and consoles her. Like any good Irish story, this includes a funeral and a wedding, some tears, and a lot of laughter. And is sure to please any and all that enjoy a good story.

“The Granny” is the third novel in the “Agnes Browne” series and was released in the year 1996. This final installment in the Agnes Browne saga follows this Dublin widow and her huge brood all the way to Agnes’ happy ending. There is the typical tribulation: one son being in jail, another is in England, and there is a grandkid to care for. There is also the typical joy which comes from having such a large family, a ready wit, and a French boyfriend.

And all the kids that we’ve come to know along the way are in their twenties now and split up in order to make it on their own in the world until a tragedy ends up bringing them back together again. And love is able to keep them this way forever.

“The Young Wan” is the fourth novel in the “Agnes Browne” series and was released in the year 2003. Before she was Mammy, before she had any Chisellers, and before any of them could make her a Granny, Agnes Browne was just Agnes Reddin, a young girl or a Young Wan, that was growing up in the Jarro in Dublin. Brendan takes his readers back to the core of working class Dublin, this time during the 1940s.

Together with Marion Delany, her soon to be lifelong best friend, young Agnes is able to survive the demands and indignities of Catholic school, the unwanted births of siblings, days spent in the markets and factories, and nights in the dance hall while rock-and-roll begins invading Dublin.

However on the eve of her wedding night, the Jarro is humming with gossiping, is she going to be turned away at the altar? For the entire parish knows her not-so-well-kept secret. And with a mom falling deeper into dementia, and a little sister turning to a life of crime, it is all up to Agnes to keep her splintering family together, as she creates one of her own.

“The Scrapper” is the first stand alone novel and was released in the year 1997. Sparrow McCabe, a Dublin boxer, has got the Spanish contender down on the floor. The World Featherweight championship is his for the taking. However there is something that stops Sparrow from throwing that one last punch and then suddenly everything is all over.

Fifteen years later and Sparrow works as a driver for Simon Williams, a gangster, attempting to turn a blind eye to all the extortion rackets, scams, and the rough justice that Williams and his heavies hand out constantly.

Sparrow decides to take a stand once murder enters the picture. It is one fight that he simply cannot lose.